Multi-Faceted Planning Essential For Client Financial Success by Joseph E. Godfrey III, MBA, CLU, AEP and Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, JDPlanning for the future today is very different from when our parents' generation looked at retirement. My co-authored article Multi-Faceted Planning Essential For Client Financial Successť was published by CCH in November 2017. The Questions to Evaluateť on the last two pages offer points to ponder as we move through life and have responsibilities and ties to various people and organizations over time.
2/2/2018What’s in the Tax Bill, and How It Will Affect YouSeveral of the most anticipated changes — such as a significant increase in the standard deduction and the curtailing of state and local income tax breaks — made the final cut. Some of the most controversial proposals, like eliminating the medical deduction, were wiped away.
Many of these provisions are temporary, however, and are set to expire after seven years. They all take effect in 2018, unless noted otherwise.
12/18/2017Who’d Gain From an Estate Tax Rollback: The 0.2 PercentersAs Steven Mnuchin, President Trump’s Treasury secretary, bluntly declared last month, “Obviously, the estate tax, I will concede, disproportionately helps rich people.”
As it is now, the estate tax affects a small set of wealthy Americans, applying only when someone leaves assets worth more than $5.49 million to heirs. Together, parents can leave $11 million to their children without paying a penny in estate taxes.
11/20/2017David Rockefeller’s Thoughtful Path to PhilanthropyMr. Rockefeller, who gave away $20 million to $30 million a year in the last 10 years of his long life, found another way to use philanthropy to make a difference — a big difference, if the sales at Christie’s bring in the $700 million that some auction experts are predicting. The previous record for an auction was set when the collection of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé, were sold for $484 million in Paris in 2009.
11/13/2017I’m Rich, and That Makes Me AnxiousMr. Gallagher, who is retired from his position as vice chairman of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce World Markets, is a member of Tiger 21, a network of over 570 members who collectively manage more than $50 billion worth of personal investable assets.
At age 72, he is a multimillionaire. Even so, “I still feel, to some extent, that I don’t have enough money,” he said. “Emotionally, I don’t come from money; I got very lucky on Wall Street. I’ve been dealing with a myriad of psychological issues since I retired. I have more money than I had ever imagined, but I still worry — do I have enough, if I live longer than I thought?”
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